ITD Senior Staff Meeting January 23, 2007
Notes and updates
Updates from Sam
Thanks to everyone who participated in the 5-year Leadership and Program Review process! Sam reminded folks that the form for Direct Reports and Other Unit Employees to fill out for his evaluation is online: http://delta.ncsu.edu/apps/peer_review/sa
He has not heard yet when the Provost will be convening a meeting to report on his findings. Sam also reported that the meeting last week with UNC President Erskine Bowles went very well, and that he and the VCL team have the go-ahead to further develop proposals VCL expansion. Sam also said he expected a good outcome from the current reorganization of MCNC.
ITD involvement with planning for redesigned portal
Stan North Martin reported that he, Harry Nicholos, Chris King and Rob Gierka will be working with Connie Reitfort’s team in EADS on ITD's presence in the redesigned Administrative Portal. Student Services will be included in this redesign as part of the roll-out of the new Student Information System. The ITD team will work to assure that IT services and information are appropriately included.
New professional development opportunities for ITD staff
Stan said that he would like to expand opportunities for Computing Services staff to take training modules being offered by Human Resources in topics such as Getting and Receiving Feedback and Conflict Resolution. He asked directors and managers in other units if they would also be interested in offering this training to some of their staff so that ITD could benefit from reduced rates. These would be half-day sessions conducted by HR for ITD staff as a group. There was general interest in this idea. Sam said that if there were broad enough participation among ITD units, the funding could possibly come from the general ITD budget instead of each unit’s individual productivity budget.
Ideas for ongoing improvement of communication with campus
Stan asked about the feasibility of having a time at the end of Sr Staff meetings to check “what's happening in the near future that campus needs to be aware of?" This would be an added method for assuring that we are informing all affected groups of new resources, services or other upcoming changes. There was a general discussion of what is currently being done, and how it could be done better.
Heads-up on new dates for Daylight Saving Time
Speaking of changes that may have unintended consequences, Jeff Webster reminded folks that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 established new start and stop dates for Daylight Saving Time for 2007. For most of the country, Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and will end at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November.
Unfortunately, in terms of IT, some systems that depend upon time-base rules may be affected. These include several Windows products (see list and advice at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx) and ITD’s Web Calendar.
Susan Klein said that the HelpDesk would be working with Jeff and others to document the appropriate Solutions, and that the information would be communicated to campus via various lists and possibly the Bulletin and/or university homepage.
Compact Planning for 2007-10
Campus administrators have begun the campus-wide compact planning process for 2007-10. Sam will be giving ITD’s round 1 presentation to the Provost, vice provosts and others during a day-long retreat on February 26. Although the format and process has changed somewhat (we will now propose CP Action Items instead of Initiatives), Compact Plans seem to remain a primary campus mechanism for coordinating planning, funding and accountability. Sr Staff discussed various potential Action Items and more general ideas about how to frame requests for additional resources. Note – the Provost would like SMART Action Items – significant programs or projects that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-specific.
Reminder - Gertrude Cox Awards
Sarah Stein encouraged everyone to attend the Gertrude Cox Awards ceremony for excellence in teaching with technology, Thursday January 25, 4:00-5:30 p.m., Talley Center Walnut Room,
Hope this is helpful
Jude